To finish Daniel by the end of August, we have readings for both Saturday and Sunday this weekend!
Daniel 4-6
These are three of my favorite chapters in the Bible. Three chapters, three pagan sovereign rulers, three startling examples of God’s sovereignty over these “sovereigns!”
King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel 4 is impressive and unique in Scripture; it was written by Nebuchadnezzar himself. He had another troubling dream, only this time, the interpretation was even more troubling. Daniel had to tell the king that he would lose his mind for a time, and that his only hope was to repent of his sins. Amazingly, he does! Nebuchadnezzar, the king that destroyed the temple, concludes this chapter by praising the Lord!
King Belshazzar, the worthless son of Nebuchadnezzar, drank from the sacred golden goblets of the temple in Jerusalem during an idolatrous feast. While they were desecrating these holy things, a hand appeared and wrote on the wall of the banquet hall: MENE MENE (numbered) TEKEL (weighed) PARSIN (divided). Belshazzar was so frightened, he called for Daniel, who interpreted the judgment of the “handwriting on the wall: ‘Your days are numbered; your reign has been weighed and found wanting; your kingdom will be divided’.” That very night, the Medes took over!
King Darius actually liked Daniel, and kept him on as an administrator of the kingdom. Some of the others, however, did not like Daniel and laid a trap for him. They approached Darius to make a law decreeing that no one could pray to any god—except King Darius—for 30 days. Daniel, of course, could not obey such a law. He was caught and sentenced to the lion’s den. Darius realized he’d been hoodwinked, but his decrees were irreversible, so into the lion’s den Daniel had to go. As everyone knows, God shut the mouths of the lions, until Daniel was released, then opened them up for those who had conspired against him!
Don’t you still love Daniel?
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Friday, August 29, 2014
AUGUST 29 DANIEL 1-3
August 29, 2014
Happy birthday to my birthday buddies here at Morton UMC: Connie Klein and Henry Potts! Not only is today my birthday, but today we begin the prophet that I read aloud to our first born on his birth day. We named him Daniel, so I thought it only appropriate to read the prophet Daniel into his newborn psyche. Now a 34-year old, our son Daniel has his own prophetic call as both a pastor and preacher of the truth. Join Becky and I in praying for him and his family as he is in his second year at Asbury Theological Seminary. It’s time for...
Daniel 1-3
Some scoff at the prophecies and narratives of Daniel and regard them as fictional. This is based on the assumption that long-range predictive prophecy and supernatural events are impossible. But we know better, don’t we: “Nothing is impossible with God!” (Luke 1:37)
The theme of Daniel is God’s sovereignty.
In chapter 1 we learn that God can take four young eunuchs in exile and servitude, and raise them to positions of leadership in the land of their captors! And, in the process, they need not defile themselves as Jews! Remember the Daniel Diet? (vv. 12-14)
In chapter 2 we find the undisputed tyrant of the ancient world, Nebuchadnezzar, at sixes and sevens over a dream. He wants an interpretation, but he won’t tell his magicians the dream. In a rage, he decides to execute them all, including Daniel and his friends. They pray, God gives Daniel knowledge of both the dream and its interpretation, and all ends well. The dream itself demonstrates God’s sovereignty over the empires of human beings, and outlines, in picture form, the next three empires after Babylon! God is sovereign over history!
In chapter 3, Daniel’s three friends are thrown into the fiery furnace, because they refuse to worship the emperor. Not only does God protect them from the flames, God (or the Son of God) enters the furnace with them!
Don’t you just love Daniel?
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
Happy birthday to my birthday buddies here at Morton UMC: Connie Klein and Henry Potts! Not only is today my birthday, but today we begin the prophet that I read aloud to our first born on his birth day. We named him Daniel, so I thought it only appropriate to read the prophet Daniel into his newborn psyche. Now a 34-year old, our son Daniel has his own prophetic call as both a pastor and preacher of the truth. Join Becky and I in praying for him and his family as he is in his second year at Asbury Theological Seminary. It’s time for...
Daniel 1-3
Some scoff at the prophecies and narratives of Daniel and regard them as fictional. This is based on the assumption that long-range predictive prophecy and supernatural events are impossible. But we know better, don’t we: “Nothing is impossible with God!” (Luke 1:37)
The theme of Daniel is God’s sovereignty.
In chapter 1 we learn that God can take four young eunuchs in exile and servitude, and raise them to positions of leadership in the land of their captors! And, in the process, they need not defile themselves as Jews! Remember the Daniel Diet? (vv. 12-14)
In chapter 2 we find the undisputed tyrant of the ancient world, Nebuchadnezzar, at sixes and sevens over a dream. He wants an interpretation, but he won’t tell his magicians the dream. In a rage, he decides to execute them all, including Daniel and his friends. They pray, God gives Daniel knowledge of both the dream and its interpretation, and all ends well. The dream itself demonstrates God’s sovereignty over the empires of human beings, and outlines, in picture form, the next three empires after Babylon! God is sovereign over history!
In chapter 3, Daniel’s three friends are thrown into the fiery furnace, because they refuse to worship the emperor. Not only does God protect them from the flames, God (or the Son of God) enters the furnace with them!
Don’t you just love Daniel?
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
Thursday, August 28, 2014
AUGUST 28 EZEKIEL 44-48
Ezekiel 44-48
The final chapters of Ezekiel continue paint a picture of a restored and heavenly worship. At times, the instructions seem earthbound and mundane, not unlike the instructions in the Pentateuch. Ezekiel sees a restored priesthood (Ezek. 44), a new distribution of the land (Ezek. 45, 48), and a fresh approach to offerings and holy days (Ezek. 45-46). But this is all described in the context of God’s intense glory.
My favorite part of Ezekiel’s vision of the heavenly Jerusalem is at the beginning of Ezekiel 48; don’t miss it. A man (angel) brings Ezekiel to the entrance of this glory-filled temple. Out from under the threshold is flowing a river. Compare it to the River of Life that John sees in Revelation 22! The man measures the depth of the river, then leads Ezekiel in, first ankle-deep, then knee-deep, then waist-deep, then too deep to cross. Ezekiel’s only choice would be to swim, to give himself over to the flow of God’s river. When the man allows Ezekiel to look downstream, he sees nothing but life (47:9) and fruit (47:12). No doubt about it; this is the River of Life! Let’s dive in.
Lord, carry us along into the dangerous, but life-giving waters of Your Spirit! AMEN.
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
The final chapters of Ezekiel continue paint a picture of a restored and heavenly worship. At times, the instructions seem earthbound and mundane, not unlike the instructions in the Pentateuch. Ezekiel sees a restored priesthood (Ezek. 44), a new distribution of the land (Ezek. 45, 48), and a fresh approach to offerings and holy days (Ezek. 45-46). But this is all described in the context of God’s intense glory.
My favorite part of Ezekiel’s vision of the heavenly Jerusalem is at the beginning of Ezekiel 48; don’t miss it. A man (angel) brings Ezekiel to the entrance of this glory-filled temple. Out from under the threshold is flowing a river. Compare it to the River of Life that John sees in Revelation 22! The man measures the depth of the river, then leads Ezekiel in, first ankle-deep, then knee-deep, then waist-deep, then too deep to cross. Ezekiel’s only choice would be to swim, to give himself over to the flow of God’s river. When the man allows Ezekiel to look downstream, he sees nothing but life (47:9) and fruit (47:12). No doubt about it; this is the River of Life! Let’s dive in.
Lord, carry us along into the dangerous, but life-giving waters of Your Spirit! AMEN.
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
AUGUST 27 EZEKIEL 40-43
Ezekiel 40-43
Today’s reading makes us think we’re back in the Pentateuch, where Moses teaches the people how to build the tabernacle, or in 2 Chronicles, where Solomon builds the first temple. On the surface, we might imagine that these are God’s plans for the rebuilding of the temple just destroyed in Jerusalem. But this is not so. The temple described here in Ezekiel was NEVER actually built. Bible scholars think its description is symbolic of the perfect worship God desires for His people.
This seems to be verified in Ezekiel 43, where the description of restored worship is so overwhelmingly wonderful, that it seems to place us in heaven for a moment(Ezekiel 43:7). These plans, Ezekiel says, are to be “considered” by the people and make them ashamed for their sins (43:10-11).
Do you remember how, just before the destruction of the temple, Ezekiel was given a vision of God’s glory gradually departing from it (Ezekiel 8-10)? Here in Ezekiel 43, the glory of the Lord returns! Lord, may your glory be present in Your Church!
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
Today’s reading makes us think we’re back in the Pentateuch, where Moses teaches the people how to build the tabernacle, or in 2 Chronicles, where Solomon builds the first temple. On the surface, we might imagine that these are God’s plans for the rebuilding of the temple just destroyed in Jerusalem. But this is not so. The temple described here in Ezekiel was NEVER actually built. Bible scholars think its description is symbolic of the perfect worship God desires for His people.
This seems to be verified in Ezekiel 43, where the description of restored worship is so overwhelmingly wonderful, that it seems to place us in heaven for a moment(Ezekiel 43:7). These plans, Ezekiel says, are to be “considered” by the people and make them ashamed for their sins (43:10-11).
Do you remember how, just before the destruction of the temple, Ezekiel was given a vision of God’s glory gradually departing from it (Ezekiel 8-10)? Here in Ezekiel 43, the glory of the Lord returns! Lord, may your glory be present in Your Church!
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
AUGUST 26 EZEKIEL 37-39
Ezekiel 37-39
Ezekiel connected dem dry bones; Ezekiel connected dem dry bones,
Ezekiel in the Valley of Dry Bones; now hear the word of the Lord.
Toe bone connected to the foot bone
Foot bone connected to the heel bone
Heel bone connected to the ankle bone
Ankle bone connected to the shin bone
Shin bone connected to the knee bone
Knee bone connected to the thigh bone
Thigh bone connected to the hip bone
Hip bone connected to the back bone
Back bone connected to the shoulder bone
Shoulder bone connected to the neck bone
Neck bone connected to the head bone
Now hear the word of the Lord.
Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around.
Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around.
Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around. Now hear the word of the Lord.
Back in Ezekiel 36, the Lord had promised, “I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees” (36:27). In Ezekiel 37, we are allowed to peek over Ezekiel’s shoulder and share a vision of how this will happen. God’s people are as dead as a valley full of bones. As Ezekiel speaks, the Lord breathes on these bones; they come together en-fleshed. He continues to speak; they come alive and form a vast army! This is what the Lord can do for His people! As you read this, remember that the words, Spirit, Wind and Breath, all reflect the same Hebrew word. This revived, restored, Spirit-filled people are the sheep the Good Shepherd will lead (37:24).
This restoration is so complete, that when an unknown, future enemy, named Gog, attacks God’s people, God will defend them and destroy this enemy (38-39)!
Tomorrow, we participate in Ezekiel’s vision of restored worship in Israel!
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
Ezekiel connected dem dry bones; Ezekiel connected dem dry bones,
Ezekiel in the Valley of Dry Bones; now hear the word of the Lord.
Toe bone connected to the foot bone
Foot bone connected to the heel bone
Heel bone connected to the ankle bone
Ankle bone connected to the shin bone
Shin bone connected to the knee bone
Knee bone connected to the thigh bone
Thigh bone connected to the hip bone
Hip bone connected to the back bone
Back bone connected to the shoulder bone
Shoulder bone connected to the neck bone
Neck bone connected to the head bone
Now hear the word of the Lord.
Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around.
Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around.
Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around. Now hear the word of the Lord.
Back in Ezekiel 36, the Lord had promised, “I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees” (36:27). In Ezekiel 37, we are allowed to peek over Ezekiel’s shoulder and share a vision of how this will happen. God’s people are as dead as a valley full of bones. As Ezekiel speaks, the Lord breathes on these bones; they come together en-fleshed. He continues to speak; they come alive and form a vast army! This is what the Lord can do for His people! As you read this, remember that the words, Spirit, Wind and Breath, all reflect the same Hebrew word. This revived, restored, Spirit-filled people are the sheep the Good Shepherd will lead (37:24).
This restoration is so complete, that when an unknown, future enemy, named Gog, attacks God’s people, God will defend them and destroy this enemy (38-39)!
Tomorrow, we participate in Ezekiel’s vision of restored worship in Israel!
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
Monday, August 25, 2014
AUGUST 25 EZEKIEL 33-36
Ezekiel 33-36
Yes! Finally! The dam breaks, and the promise of restoration for the exiled people of God begins to flow. What a mighty progression of prophetic truth and hope for both Israel and the future grafted-in Israel, the Church, the Body of Christ!
It all begins with a reminder to Ezekiel himself. God has appointed him a watchman, and, as such, he is responsible for raising the alarm. If Ezekiel fails to sound the warning and the people are destroyed, he will be held accountable for their blood. If he is faithful to sound the alarm and the people ignore him, he will not be held accountable for their blood. Jerusalem will fall because they failed to heed the watchman’s warning!
Ezekiel 34 contains both a devastating indictment and the promise of a Savior. The shepherds, the spiritual leaders of Israel have not cared for the sheep or searched for the lost ones; instead, they have ruled harshly and brutally (34:4). Because of this, God promises to come and shepherd the sheep Himself! In describing this “good” Shepherd, God says, “I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them” (34:23). David is long dead; this is none other than the Messiah of God, even Jesus Christ Himself, the Son of David! He will bring “showers of blessings” and “peace” to the people (34:25-26). Praise the Lord.
After a short reminder of Edom’s total destruction in chapter 35, Ezekiel announces the unbelievable and glorious restoration of Israel in chapter 36. Though the people have been dispersed among the nations, God will “gather [them] from all the countries and bring [them] back into [their] own land.”(36:24) Not only so, but God will cleanse them from sin, remove from them their stony heart, and replace it with a heart of flesh. God will give His Spirit to His people (36:27). Imagine reading these incredible words as an exiled Hebrew! We read these words as New Testament Christians and see the footprints of Jesus all through them! Hallelujah!
Tomorrow, it gets better and wilder! Dem’ bones are gonna rise again!
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
Yes! Finally! The dam breaks, and the promise of restoration for the exiled people of God begins to flow. What a mighty progression of prophetic truth and hope for both Israel and the future grafted-in Israel, the Church, the Body of Christ!
It all begins with a reminder to Ezekiel himself. God has appointed him a watchman, and, as such, he is responsible for raising the alarm. If Ezekiel fails to sound the warning and the people are destroyed, he will be held accountable for their blood. If he is faithful to sound the alarm and the people ignore him, he will not be held accountable for their blood. Jerusalem will fall because they failed to heed the watchman’s warning!
Ezekiel 34 contains both a devastating indictment and the promise of a Savior. The shepherds, the spiritual leaders of Israel have not cared for the sheep or searched for the lost ones; instead, they have ruled harshly and brutally (34:4). Because of this, God promises to come and shepherd the sheep Himself! In describing this “good” Shepherd, God says, “I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them” (34:23). David is long dead; this is none other than the Messiah of God, even Jesus Christ Himself, the Son of David! He will bring “showers of blessings” and “peace” to the people (34:25-26). Praise the Lord.
After a short reminder of Edom’s total destruction in chapter 35, Ezekiel announces the unbelievable and glorious restoration of Israel in chapter 36. Though the people have been dispersed among the nations, God will “gather [them] from all the countries and bring [them] back into [their] own land.”(36:24) Not only so, but God will cleanse them from sin, remove from them their stony heart, and replace it with a heart of flesh. God will give His Spirit to His people (36:27). Imagine reading these incredible words as an exiled Hebrew! We read these words as New Testament Christians and see the footprints of Jesus all through them! Hallelujah!
Tomorrow, it gets better and wilder! Dem’ bones are gonna rise again!
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)